I've never liked Abe very much. Article 9 is an admirable part of the Japanese constitution. One might even say it's ahead of its time, too advanced for this modern world of constant war. To fiddle with Japan's pacifist leanings is just... wrong on so many levels (and giving in to pressure from the United States).

I have mixed feelings about government. On one hand, government provides valuable services and maintains public order. But on the other hand, it's like a vampiric monster, sucking up all my money and barely leaving me enough to live on. The real question is: in the absence of central government, would the citizenry be able to come up with a reasonable replacement for all the services that government provides (law & order, maintenance of public facilities, schools, etc)? Maybe, or maybe the replacement would simply be a new form of central government.

All I know is, I get a feeling of dread and dismay whenever something comes in the mail bearing some sort of official government address, and that's enough to tell me that something is wrong.